This invention relates generally to a filter and, more particularly, to a filter assembly for removing lint from water discharged through a hose from a washing machine.
Conventional clothes washers or washing machines are provided with a rubber discharge hose through which the soapy water employed in the washing cycle is removed from the machine at the end of the cycle. Most washing machines have filters which collect the lint off the clothes during the washing cycle. During the discharge cycle, the internal lint filter is backflushed as the water is pumped out of the machine through the discharge hose.
The discharged water and lint carried thereby is customarily disposed of through existing sewer, sump, or other water drainage systems. A particularly common manner of disposing of the discharge water is to discharge it into a utility sink or washbasin from which the water drains through a drain and plumbing system associated therewith. The lint and other debris found in the discharge water often accumulate in and clog or plug the pipes, drains, etc., of the system. When this occurs, costly plumbing repairs frequently result.
To avoid the lint accumulation problem, a number of filters have been proposed to remove the lint from the discharge water before it can accumulate in and clog the plumbing system. A number of such filter assemblies are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,804,258; 2,754,003; 2,490,443; 2,562,328; 2,608,302; 2,809,650 and 3,487,944. Some of the filter assemblies, such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,258 of Okuniewski et al. have an elongate cylindrical body with perforations along the length thereof for containing an elongate cylindrical filter element. The housings are adapted to be connected to the outlet end of the discharge hose such that the discharge water flows into the open inlet end of the housing through the filter element and radially outward through the side perforations of the housing.
A factor which has prevented the widespread use of such filters, and thus prevented a widespread solution of the lint accumulation problem noted above, is the difficulty encountered in cleaning a reusable filter element of the assembly. After a period of use, the filter element, of course, becomes clogged with lint and must be cleaned or replaced. If the filter element cannot be easily cleaned or replaced, many users simply dispense with the filter assembly.